1 No, I Do Not Want Blue Hair, Said Tom with a Grimace. He Was Sitting in a Turquoise

A Haunting Moment English -ESA By Colleen Messina

1 "No, I do not want blue hair," said Tom with a grimace. He was sitting in a turquoise beanbag chair in an azure room, but he did not want his hair to match the décor.

2 "Blue is the best color!" said Terry. Every facet of his room, including the navy blue carpet, reflected how much he believed that. Apparently, he thought a blue-haired vampire was practicable for Freak Day at school. Everyone, even teachers, dressed in wild outfits for Freak Day.

3 "I'll show you what shade of blue I mean. Cassie is a slob and leaves her stuff all over our bathroom. It looks like a cosmetic factory had to liquidate in there! I think she has some blue hair dye somewhere," said Terry. He got up and walked out of his room and Tom, like usual, followed him.

4 Tom and Terry were inseparable, but Terry was the leader of the two. They were not biological brothers, but they shared everything from sophomore classes to CDs. Terry was tall and dark haired. He was not handsome in the usual sense, but his self-assurance made him stand out in a crowd. Tom was blond, quiet, and thoughtful. Another thing the friends shared, but not happily, was a crush on Bea U. Tee. Bea was an effervescent cheerleader and seemed to enchant both boys. Terry always knew just what to say when he saw her, but Tom just stood there, silently blushing.

5 Tom and Terry went down the hall to the bathroom that Terry shared with his sister. Cassandra had a substantial makeup collection. Bottles of hair color littered the shelves next to sweet-smelling tubes of fruit flavored lipsticks. Dark eyeliner pencils with perfectly sharpened tips stuck out of a plastic cup like smoky rockets ready to launch. Fragrant bath oil beads in crystal goblets sparkled on the window ledge, sending orbs of rainbow light across the white walls. Cassie kept chunky, brown hair barrettes that looked like pieces of lumber and metallic, corrugated headbands in a basket on a shelf. Slender bottles of homogenous nail polish stood in front of the mirror making double images like showgirls in a line. Cassandra placed great emphasis on her appearance, but her bathroom was a mess.

6 "I detest the way this stuff smells! It's easy for you to say blue is better because you have dark hair. I am a novice at hair coloring. What if something goes terribly wrong?" Tom said. He reluctantly agreed to Terry's plan, as usual, but he was still concerned that blue dye might turn his hair a sickly shade of Herman Munster green.

7 Terry picked up a tube from the bathroom counter. He squeezed a small sphere of blue goop out of the tube. It looked like a lush, succulent blueberry.

8 "This color is perfect-you can get a tube like this at the drugstore. We have teeth and capes to finish the Scream Team look," said Terry, convinced that they were fully equipped for Freak Day. Terry had a latent interest in drama, so Freak Day was his idea of fun. Tom, on the other had, was not so sure. Freak Day to him seemed, well, freaky. Daring things upset his equilibrium.

9 Tom stopped by the drugstore on the way home. He thought it would be a simple thing to pick up a tube of hair stuff, but when he got there, he realized he should have paid more attention to the name of the product. He wandered past stationery, lipstick, and pills.

10 "Do you have blue hair dye? The kind in a tube?" he asked the clerk, a disheveled girl who looked like she could use some help with cosmetics herself.

11 "Over by our hairnet display," the girl said, as she peered over thick glasses and nodded towards hairnets arranged in a strange pattern that resembled a spider web. A large plastic black spider hung ominously from a strand of hairnets. The girl seemed to think it was a fantastic display, but Tom thought the idea of combining spiders and hairnets in any way was unhealthy. Tom thought that the girl needed some help in the interior decorating department too.

12 "Aisle two, bottom shelf," the girl called as she reached into a commodious shelf under her counter and pulled out extra dental floss to restock another display. Tom hoped she wasn't thinking of spinning her own web with it.

13 Tom crept past thousands and thousands of hair products. A plastic werewolf stared at him from the shampoo section, showing off his shining, clean, doggy locks. He obviously used a good shampoo! Tom thought that the werewolf's glaring eyes and frothing mouth looked more like an ad for rabies inoculations or a warning about getting home by curfew than encouragement for buying a good shampoo. Tom felt overwhelmed by the rows and rows (and rows and rows) of hair sprays, styling gels, and conditioners. At last, he reached the section with hair coloring products. He quickly grabbed a blue tube, bought it, and ran home.

14 The next morning the Scream Team met in the hall. Bea U. Tee walked by and Terry started up a lively conversation while Tom walked on. Bea U. Tee gave Terry a dazzling smile.

15 "Your costume is great!" she said. She was dressed up as a beauty queen, complete with a diamond tiara and fake roses in her arms.

16 Tom went home after school, eager to get out of the vampire outfit. He was glad the Scream Team had dissolved. Why did Bea only talk to Terry? He took a shower, pulled on his clothes, looked in the mirror, and screamed.

17 His hair was still blue.

18 Tom jumped back in the shower in a panic and scrubbed his scalp until it hurt. He jumped out and wiped off the steamy mirror. What he saw made his mood match his hair. It was a haunting moment.

19 His hair was still blue.

20 Tom called Terry, who laughed uproariously when Tom told him the problem. Of course, Terry picked the right kind of hair dye-the kind that washed out right away! Tom had a sleepless night and walked to school in a fog of blue hair and deep despair. To add to his problem, the first person he saw when he got to school was Bea! He looked around frantically for somewhere to hide, but all he saw were prickly shrubs next to the stone steps of the school, so it was no use. She motioned him over with a broad smile.

21 "Why is your hair still blue?" she called. It was heresy to appear in costume after Freak Day, so Tom found his tongue and explained his problem. He felt so embarrassed. Now his chances with Bea were probably zero!

22 "You must have grabbed the wrong kind of rinse-the kind that doesn't come out right away! I have an idea. I have some stuff at home that will make it come out much quicker. Do you want to stop by after school and borrow it?" Bea said in a friendly tone.

23 "Sure," said Tom. Suddenly, he didn't feel so blue after all.